The invention relates to telephone systems and more particularly to telephone switching systems.
Telephone switching, as generally known, has required in the past a large number of electromechanical components within a specific crosspoint matrix arrangement for connecting between a calling party and a called party upon existing telephone lines. The calling party's dial signal instructs the switching mechanism to connect between one pair out of a very large number of interconnecting telephone lines by a carefully controlled system dependent on the impulses generated by the interruption of an electric current with the dial-type telephone subset, or by the generation of dial tones with the voice frequency touch-tone telephone subset.
Recent innovations involving the use of computer storage registers to effect rapid connection between incoming and outgoing telephone lines on the main distribution frame have eliminated a great deal of the electromechanical components that have proved to be expensive to maintain and difficult to rapair. However, with the continued increase in telephone communication, larger number of lines must continuously be made available and more rapid means developed in order to efficiently switch between the calling party and the called party on the increasing number of lines. In addition, the bandwidth of the interconnecting elements is limited and may create difficulties in switching lines carrying high data rates.